When it comes time to drift off into a peaceful slumber, something that many of us struggle to do, one of the keys isn’t to just relax.

You’ve got to kick yourself into high gear!

A common mistake people make when trying to get to sleep is to ignore the physical stress and anxiety they’ve built up over the course of the day, week, or months, and instead try to use pure mental relaxation techniques to force an amped-up body to just goto sleep.

Mind techniques can be effective, but will be exponentially more so if you partner them with a physical practice.

If your body remains switched into the sympathetic nervous system, which sounds nice, but is actually your fight-or-flight nature, you’ll be doing the exact opposite of what’s needed to get you to sleep. And sometimes, repeating Om, counting sheep, or even breathing deeply isn’t enough to take you there.

At the end of your day, if you haven’t done a body-working and balancing practice like tai chi or qigong, then your stress will be residing not only in your mind … but in your muscle tissue as well. And, you have to get it out to be able to fully relax.

If you don’t deal with your muscles, they will turn into restless legs, a still-wonky adrenal system, a jumpy mental state and you, remaining wide-awake and frustrated for hours. Or, you’ll grab the Ambien. I encourage you to try the natural route first.

If you cut your sleep-depriving systems off at the pass, by doing an intelligent, counter-balancing amount of exercise during your day or about an hour before bed, then a more chill sequence right before you sleep, in very little time, you can make huge changes in the way you feel when you dive under those covers.

Exercise that’s specifically targeted towards movement that removes muscle tension and centers your body and brain, like tai chi and qigong, can be a huge ally in your quest for sweet dreams.

Tai chi and qigong in particular had been shown to calm the central nervous system. Unlike many forms of exercise where the breath ends up high in the chest and short. This breath mimics, panic, and can actually cause your body to develop more stress instead of less.

The bonus is, when you add consistent, conscious movement to your week, you’ll reap a host of other benefits, like increased strength, better circulation, and a boost in your immune system.

Try this simple video on a basic tai chi qigong exercise. Make sure that you slowly inhale through your nose as the wrists rise and slowly exhale through your mouth as the palms are pushing downward. Do this 36 times minimum for 7 straight days and let me know if you feel a difference!